Karen Sixkiller is a contemporary sculptor and Washington state native residing on the Olympic Peninsula. Sixkiller creates sculptures using metal, ceramic, glass beads, leather/suede and fabric. As a Cherokee Nation citizen much of her work is informed by Native American understandings or stories. Studying social psychology in graduate school taught her the discipline of scientific research which she applies to inform her art. Her formal education in public health and elementary education brought her to New Mexico where she worked for the Indian Health Service and at a tribally owned residential school. These experiences and influences have coalesced in her passion for expressing new perspectives through art. Cherokee Nation has purchased many of Karen Sixkiller’s ceramic and mixed media sculptural pieces for display in official buildings. She has permanent public art installations in Tahlequah OK, Asheville NC, Olympia and Port Angeles WA; and currently several temporary installations in Coeur d’Alene ID, Olympia WA and Lake Oswego OR. Her work has been featured at multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous art shows.